Return to the United Kingdom

Travel to England and Norway Begins

  "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

Seneca

 
This is the story of our 16-night, 17-day voyage to the top of Norway in search of the Northern Lights aboard Ambassador's ship Ambience.  If you'd like to skip ahead, you can begin reading at the point where we embarked on the ship in Tilbury, England.  However, if you aren't in a hurry, the full tale begins at the edge of a continent, right at the transition where one journey ends and another begins.

 
Our time back in the UK and on board Ambience to Norway begins almost a month after we completed our multiyear #Hike4Birds on the Trans Canada Trail and a week after returning to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where we began our trek across Canada many many years ago.
 

Newfoundland to the United Kingdom

 
Our final day in St John’s, Newfoundland, was spent hiking the rugged, wind-swept cliffs high above of the ocean, reminding ourselves why we'd fallen in love with this tiny Atlantic province during our hike along the East Coast Trail almost a decade ago.  Yesterday, we retraced our footsteps along the beginnings of the Trans Canada Trail, a path we'd walked from coast to coast to coast, which had changed the course of our lives.

    

 

Around us, fall colours were at their height, with the brilliant red wild blueberry bushes set off the shining yellow aspens that clung to the solid, rocky slopes of the province.   We'd revelled in the blaze of colour as summer's last warmth prior to the onset of winter.
 
With that said, as day turned to night, and night turned to morning through the airport windows, we began to feel the weariness after so much time spent hiking outdoors in the fresh air. 
 
However, we also knew that after a week of rest and reflection in Newfoundland, it was time to get going again.
 

Air Travel vs Slow Travel

 
As evening set in, we sat in the airport in St. John's, Newfoundland, looking out at the fog-shrouded tarmac, waiting for our redeye flight to Gatwick in London, England.  As one day tipped over into the next, we looked around at our fellow passengers, a mere handful of Newfoundlanders who even now appear to be laid back, relaxed, and ready to exchange a smile or friendly remark.  

The experience is completely different from our usual departures for Europe through bright, bustling, and fast-paced airports like Toronto and Montreal or the long journeys on board transatlantic ships and sailboats.  
 

Our direct WestJet flight from St. John's to London Gatwick took just over 4 hours, meaning that our 1 AM departure would quickly arrive in England at 9 AM.  After making several transatlantic crossings by ship, many times aboard Queen Mary 2, the world's last operational ocean liner, and aboard the 5-masted sailing ship Wind Surf, the short journey by air felt strange.

 

We could imagine the ocean stretched out below us, with its enormous diversity of marine life tucked away beneath the surface, and a blanket of seabirds wheeling and diving among the waves, playing in the lively space between air and water. 

 

We remembered the sunrises and sunsets, and standing at the ship's rail for days watching storms move across the horizon, looking dark and stormy and fierce but more often than not followed by rainbows.  By the end of those sea voyages, we disembarked among friends, waving goodbye to passengers and crew who'd become a memorable part of those crossings. 

 
As slow travelers we'd prefer to travel by sea than air, but unfortunately, most trips between the New World and the Old leave from the United States, where sadly, the political climate is unfavourable for Canadians and travellers at the moment.  As a result, this time we fly rather than voyage and in so doing, we trade 8 to 14 days of wonder and relaxation for several hours of discomfort and exhaustion.
 

Flying to the UK

 
Most of the flight passed in darkness, but as we crossed well above the transatlantic trench, a band of pink began to appear above the thin layer of fluffy clouds just below us.  As the light slowly grew, becoming red and yellow and orange, the cloud blanket began to fray, allowing us brief glimpses of the dark green sea below. 

 
Excitement grew as we started to see the shapes of cargo ships and other watercraft below, a sure sign that we were approaching land.  Suddenly, what appeared to be an uncertain outline took shape, and we recognized the long, white sandy beaches of England's southwest coast snaking off into the distance below us.  We followed the wavering shoreline for a while, until from the map on the seatback in front of us we could identify the long pier at Brighton Beach. 

 
Then we turned inland, flying over emerald green agricultural fields that unfolded like a wrinkled blanket below us.  Broken up into neat squares by hedgerows and dry stone walls, we could just make out the white dots of sheep in some of the fields.  As we made our descent into Gatwick, small villages began to appear more frequently below our wings.
 

Gatwick to Heathrow

 
Wishing to avoid the higher prices and larger crowds of central London, we'd booked two nights in a budget hotel in Hounslow, a community on the western edge of England's largest city.  Upon landing, our first priority was to purchase a SIM card so we could buy bus and train tickets as well as figure out how to navigate to the hotel.  Sean managed to accomplish getting my phone to work inside the airport, while I retrieved our luggage from the carousel.  Soon we were jostling along in the crowd of travellers looking to escape the airport by bus, train, car, or other means. 
 
At this point, the chaos began as we encountered the first of our troubles using our Canadian bank and credit cards in England, a snag we hadn't experienced previously when we hiked several national trails, including Wainright's Coast to Coast Trail and the Hadrian's Wall Footpath. 

 
To prevent fraud, our bank also prevented us from purchasing a bus or train ticket in a foreign country, even though we had notified them of our plans before we travelled.  We solved our problem by paying cash for a bus ticket to Heathrow Airport, from where it was just a short metro ride to Hounslow.  As the helpful desk attendant pointed out, this wasn't the least expensive option, but the trip involved only one transfer and it solved our problem, which, after a long day exploring St. John's, Newfoundland and then a sleepless overnight flight we greatly appreciated.
 

Hounslow, England

 
When we eventually stepped off the train in Hounslow, we found a very busy, modern, working town filled with a vibrant, multicultural community. The streets were lined with a variety of shops, markets, and restaurants featuring cuisine from around the world, with a particular emphasis on Indian food.  It was immediately obvious that Hounslow is located in the flight path of Heathrow Airport, with jets flying incredibly low over the town every few minutes.  In fact, it is the town's strategic location near Heathrow Airport, which opened in 1946, that transformed it into a key hub for transport and commerce.  It also serves as a gateway for travellers heading into central London, and we planned to make it our home base for tonight. 
 
We easily found our accommodations, the IBIS Budget Express Hotel.  Here we checked into a small and sparse room, chosen as it was a quarter of the price of staying in central London a few metro stops away.  Figuring that this was only a stopover for an evening’s rest, we chose not to invest in much and so were grateful that the hotel was clean and safe-feeling.  

 
Settled in set out to do laundry and afterwards, with evening settling, we went out to the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons, part of a restaurant group which we enjoyed in Fort William at the crux of the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way Trails.
 
By 6 PM, after a full day hiking in Canada, a transatlantic flight and a full day here in England we were both very tired and returned to our room to sleep.  Tomorrow and for the next couple we are going to take things ease.  Our goal is to explore some of London’s best bird watching hotspots that are accessible by transit in the city, including the London Wetland Centre, Kew Gardens, sections of the Thames Path and RPBS Rainham Marshes

See you on the journey!